Starting Over Again
by JHolden
Summary: Faith is in a coma, Angel just left, Buffy is feeling guilty about Faith. It's BF so if you don't like, go away, grow up and then come back to read it.
1. Chapter 1

-1Disclaimer: Not my characters, just having some fun with them

Spoilers: Season 4, right "This Year's Girl"

Buffy stood outside of the apartment. This was only the second time she had visited this place. The first time she was here was something she couldn't forget, it was the night she almost killed Faith. She opened the door slowly, almost expecting Faith to slam the door shut but only to be reminded that Faith wasn't there. She was in a coma, a coma Buffy had put her in.

Faith had said that she could take any thing from this place, she was g tog to take it all with her. She had told her mom she was going to pick up all of Faith's things and store it in the basement until she woke up again. Buffy was sure that Faith would wake up, Faith's a fighter, a coma wont stop her from getting back on her feet. Last time she was here she didn't get to see what the apartment looked like or what kind of things Faith possessed, but now she had the time and she was stunned.

The apartment was really nice, if you ignored the broken furniture and glass. it was quite big and she had a lot of electronics. This place was a lot better than her old motel room. 'I can't believe that we made Faith stay there. Ok what is it with me? Faith betrayed me, she hurt me, why am I even caring?' Buffy knew why though, there was something different about Faith, something that made Buffy wanna get to know her. Now it was too late though and it wasn't as if she had actually tried before.

But as soon as Faith wakes up Buffy wants to set things right, it was mostly her fault that Faith went to the mayor. If Buffy had just supported her like she should have done instead of freaking out. She couldn't stay here anymore, this place was just reminding her too much about that awful fight last week.

Buffy walked out of the apartment, Faith had more things than she expected, mostly electronics, she'd need her mom's car to take everything home.

It had gotten dark already, it had been light when she'd gone to Faith's apartment, 'guess I lost track of time again. Might as well do the patrol now and then visit Faith.' Buffy walked towards the Restfield cemetery, it was the closest to the hospital. Ever since the mayor had been defeated most vamps had left town or had been killed during the major show down. She walked through the cemetery for almost two hours, not fighting a single vamp. It did give her time to think though, about Angel and about Faith. Angel had left right after graduation, even though she thought it was going to hurt like hell it didn't. only for the first two days but after that she was over it, this surprised her. A lot.

She didn't know what to think of it, to be honest she had been more worried about how Faith was than about Angel leaving her. 'Well at least now I didn't kill him. He left because he needed to, help other needing souls or something.' She knew that she would always have a weak spot for Angel but also knew that it would never have worked again. 'It barely worked in the beginning and then there was also the whole thing with the curse, oh and lets not forget, he's a vampire. Kinda my duty to kill 'm and all.' Buffy decided that she'd had enough of this, there was nothing to beat up or kill, she called it a night and made her way towards the hospital.

TBC..


	2. The Hospital

-1Buffy walked into the hospital and straight to Faith's room, she had been there a couple of times the past week. Without the gang of course, they hated Faith even though they didn't know her.

She walked past a gift shop and decided to get Faith a small teddy bear, the room looked so bare otherwise. She had brought in some flowers the other day but she needed to get some new ones soon. 'Will do that tomorrow when mom helps me to get Faith's stuff.'

Buffy stepped into Faith's room, it hadn't been changed since she was there last time. The flowers were still there but water had been added 'probably by the nurse'. The window was closed a long with the curtains, Buffy had done this the first time she got there, she didn't want any vamps snacking on Faith. There was only one chair in the room next to Faith's bed. The walls 't h't have anything on them, they were just plain white.

Whenever Buffy got here she got extremely depressed. The room was dark, Faith was in a coma and the only things that were in here, a sign of that someone cared, were from Buffy. She couldn't believe that her friends didn't bother checking up on Faith.

Here there was a girl of 16, 17? 'Fuck, we didn't even know how old she was. Or her last name. Guess that shit's gotta hurt.' Anyway, here there was a girl, in a coma, was about to die, was hated by almost everyone she knew and then still helped out in the end. She should get some credit for that.

Buffy placed the teddy bear under Faith arm which was lying across her stomach. She then moved the chair closer to the bed to hold Faith's other hand.

"Hey Faith, how ya doing? Stupid question I know, but I just keep on expecting to say 'Hey B! Surprise, was just kidding! God you should get that stick removed from your ass.' Or just tell me that your 'five-by-five' whatever that means." She got up from the chair again, she couldn't stay seated too long. "I just wyou you to know that I am so sorry for what we did to you. And that I'm very thankful for helping us out in the end. We beat the bad guy, but we wouldn't have been able to do that without you."

This is what every visit with Faith was like, Buffy apologizing and getting emotional. She sat down again, wanting to be able to hold Faith's hand. Her voice softened again.

"Angel left right after the fight. I didn't tell you that yet. He's moved to LA, helping out people there. Wesley left the day after graduation, something about failing you. Apparently he got sacked." Buffy laughed a little at this, "guess he wasn't so right about everything like he thought he was."

She was quiet for a minute, just looking at Faith's breathing. It was slow and soft but it was there.

"Giles is looking for a job now since he can't be a school librarian anymore. He seems a bit lost right now, it's weird seeing him like that. I think that blowing up the school wasn't exactly the best idea then. He's been reorganizing his books again at home, it's all he ever does." 

Buffy looked around the room to find a clock, she didn't find one though 'an other thing I will have to get to put in the room.'

"I'll be right back, just need to check the time, mom didn't want me to stay out too late tonight."

She left the room and after about 2 minutes she was back again. She picked up her coat which she had put on the chair and put it on.

"I'm running late already, I'll come back tomorrow afternoon. Tell you about the rest of the gang, and maybe if we can, get you in one of those wheel chairs where your strapped onto to go outside. You should get some sun in your face, wanna keep you healthy."

She kissed Faith on the forehead like she had done on graduation day and all the other visits here.

"I miss you Faith."

She walked out the door, looked back one last time and left.


	3. Talking To Willow

-1Buffy and Willow sat in the graveyard waiting for a vamp to rise. Willow had gotten Buffy to choose her classes now instead of freaking out later. "Did you sign up for psychology?" "Yeah, it was the first one I did." Willow replied. They continued looking over the courses available, they didn't see the vamp rise behind them that they had been waiting for. The vamp was preparing himself to attack the two girls but when he saw the weapons lying around them he quickly changed his mind and walked off quietly.

"Hey Will…" Buffy started but stopped straight away. Willow put her things down and looked up at her best friend. "What is it?" "How good would you say you're at hacking." Buffy asked slowly. "Pretty good I guess, I mean I did hack into the mayor's files. Why?" Buffy stayed silent for a while, she knew that Willow wouldn't like her idea. After a couple of minutes she'd finally gotten enough courage to just straight up ask her, "would you be able to hack into police files as well?" "Yeah, probably. Why would I wanna do that though?" She heard Buffy mumble something but couldn't hear what it was. "What?" "I said; to remove Faith's files." Buffy said softly, waiting for Willow's outburst '3, 2, 1.' "WHAT?!" 'there it is.' "Why the hell would I do that Buffy? She betrayed you! She nearly killed Angel. And oh yeah, she's evil!" Buffy had expected this, and had prepared for it but now she wasn't sure if she wanted to bother explaining why. She put up hey face of indifference, something Faith had perfected, "you're right. Never mind, it was stupid." She turned around, "god, is this guy ever gonna rise?" She felt like killing something right now, something she could beat up, badly.

Willow looked closely at Buffy, she saw how Buffy had changed her whole demeanour in just a split second. She decided that maybe she should give her friend a chance to explain herself. "Buffy. Why would you want to help Faith?" "I nearly killed her Will. I nearly killed Faith" Buffy looked up at Willow with tars in her eyes, "I know that if I hadn't stabbed her she would've killed me but I could've prevented this whole thing from happening. If I had just been there for her like I should have when she killed Finch. It wasn't her that killed Finch, it was us.

"We were both there, if I had been where she had been standing I would have staked him. I know that I would have been able to go through it because I had you guys. She had no one except me, and I dumped her as soon as she made one mistake. If I would've helped her like I should have then she wouldn't have gone to the mayor and later poison Angel."

Willow looked at her hands and deep down she knew that Buffy was right. She didn't want to admit it though, she didn't like Faith, why help her?

"That's not completely true Buffy. She did have other people than just you. She had me and ---" Buffy snorted and looked up at Willow.

"You? She could talk to you? Please Willow, we both know that you hated her from the start. Why I don't know but it was obvious you did. You didn't like her, though you never bothered to get to know her. And don't say she could've talked to Xander. He only saw her as a sex object, not as a person.

"She couldn't have gone to Giles either, she has a problem with authority figures. She didn't trust anyone but me Will. I should have been there for her when she needed me but I wasn't. I want to make that up to her. I have to make it up to her." Buffy finished softly.

"I talked to mom, when Faith wakes up she'll be moving in with us. We're getting all of her things when she has some time off. We can't let her live at home though if the police is still after her. And what can they do against a Slayer? She won't even be able to help people from jail either."

Willow knew that Buffy was right. She also knew that Buffy would just find an other way of getting rid of those files if she didn't help her. Buffy was determent to help Faith, 'I might as well help her with it then.'

"Ok… Ok, I'll see what I can do. Just give me some time, I have to make sure everything is gone and that they cant trace me. You do know that if I get caught that I might be Faith's cell mate?"

She looked at Buffy and muttered, "she'll probably make me her bitch."

"Willow!" she just laughed at Buffy.

"I was kidding. Well about the last part anyway." They laughed together and Buffy relaxed again, she was happy that she'd gotten this out of the way.

She still had to tell Giles about her plans though. It wasn't as if he could tell her not to do it, he wasn't her Watcher anymore, but she still wanted his approval. She knew that he would help her out anyway if she told him what she'd just told Willow.

Xander would be a lot more difficult to convince but she'd have to do that once he got back from his little road trip thing. He was good at holding grudges which got slightly annoying sometimes.

She hugged Willow and gave her a huge smile, "you have no clue how much this means to me." She looked at her watch, "it's pretty late. Come on, I'll walk you home."

They walked past the grave the vamp had crawled out earlier that evening, "Shit. I'll get you home and then I'll go vamp hunting." 'Hunting, like I did when Faith and I were together. Not some lousy patrol where you wait for a vamp to attack you. That's no fun.' "Hunt?" Buffy just nodded, got her weapon bag and helped Willow up.

Once they got to Willow's house they decided to leave Buffy's weapons there, it was easier to hunt with just a stake and a dagger. Before Willow walked in she turned around again.

"Buffy, I want you to know that I am removing Faith's files for you. Not for her. I'm not forgiving Faith yet, maybe I will later. But when she wakes up that doesn't mean I'm gonna start trusting her. She has to earn it."

"I get it Will. And thanks again, it really means a lot to me."

With that she turned around mentally preparing herself for a long hunting night. She smiled to herself, walked into the nearest cemetery and saw a couple of vamps already. She got a huge grin on her face. It looked a lot like Faith's whenever she talked about slaying and beating up demons.

"Hey guys, I'm not disturbing you, am I?"

She got her stake out and charged at the vamps.


	4. Chapter 4

Buffy walked into the now, very familiar room. "Hey Faith." She opened up the window and wondering if any one had done that while she wasn't here for the past week.

The sun was shining brightly, heating up the room immediately. She sat down in 'her' chair by Faith's bed after looking at the status board to see if there had been any change at all. Nothing.

"I'm sorry I haven't been here. I've been really busy with packing your things. The basement is already finished, we just have to place your stuff there."

She looked around the room, still thinking it was quite bare. "tomorrow I don't have to do anything so I'll come by and put up some pictures or something. Make this place look a little better.

"I've talked to Willow already, she's gonna try to remove your files from the police database. I don't wanna pressure her but I just want it to be done as quickly as possible. After she's done that I wanna take her here and show her how vulnerable you are. Just to show her why she did it.

"I've talked to Giles about having you living at home with mom. You should have seen his face when I told him. I think that I may have broken something inside him this time. don't think his glasses have ever been cleaner than yesterday, he polished them so much.

"I haven't been able to talk to Xander yet, he's still doing his 'search for yourself' thing. I think that he'll be a lot harder to convince than the others, he's good at holding grudges. But I guess you knew that, with Angel."

She got out of her chair and moved towards the window. Just standing there silently looking outside, it was the summer holidays so most people were gone. It was quiet, but not eerily.

Buffy turned around again, to look at Faith. The girl had changed so much from the first time she saw her. Faith looked a lot older and at the same time a lot younger. Her true age could be seen now without the defences up. 'How old was she now? 16 17? God, did we ever celebrate her birthday? When is her birthday? How long had we known her and still didn't know her last name? Does she have a middle name?'

All these questions started to fill Buffy's head as she continued to examine Faith's face. She felt guiltier by the minute as she found out how little they actually knew about Faith. All they knew about Faith's past were the things she accidentally let slip up.

She couldn't stay here any longer, all this guilt was becoming way too much.

"I'm sorry Faith, I just have to go for a while. But I promise you, once you wake up, we'll work all of this out. You won't be treated like a third wheel."

She removed herself from the window and gave Faith one last look. She then left the hospital room wondering how she could have let things go so far with Faith.

"Hey mom, I'm home."

Buffy walked into the kitchen and found a note on the counter.

'Buffy, got called away to LA. Something about needing an expert to examine some piece, Rupert is with me. I wanted to make sure it isn't demonic. There's some money on your bed. Please don't spend it all on pizza's. I'll be back in a couple of days. MOM'

'Got the whole house to myself for a few days, think about the possibilities.'  
Buffy got a huge smile on her face but it vanished as soon as she realised that it wouldn't exactly be any different than when her mom was home.

She wasn't exactly hungry so decided to get those pizza's later, she looked around the kitchen, looking for something she could do. Her eyes fell on the basement door which was slightly open. 'What better way to get to know Faith than by looking through her things? It's not as if I can ask her all the things I wanna know.'

She got her coat and keys and left the house. Silently wishing that they had taken Faith's things with them already.

A/N It's not very long but next chapter will be a lot better...


	5. Faith's Appartment

-1As soon as Buffy walked into Faith's apartment all of her memories flooded back straight away. The last time she was here it wasn't to get to know the real Faith, it was just to pack up everything, Buffy had blocked out her emotions then. This time she couldn't ignore what she was feeling.

Flashback

Buffy walks into the apartment with Faith's knife in her waistband. Buffy turns off Faith's music. Faith notices and slowly turns around to see who it is. "Thought I'd stop by." She smiles and turns around completely, "Is he dead yet?"

"He's not gonna die. It was a good try, though. Your plan?" Faith slowly gets off of her bed and takes a few steps closer towards Buffy. "Uh-huh. The Mayor got me the poison. Said it was wicked painful." Buffy isn't amused or impressed at all, "There's a cure." Faith still smiling, "Damn. What is it?"

"Your blood," realization washes over Faith's face, "As justice goes, it's not un-poetic, don't you think?"

"Come to get me?" she slowly starts to advance towards Buffy, "you gonna feed me to Angel?" Stops walking, "you know you're not going to take me alive."  
Buffy's face expression is still the same as all night, not showing any emotion, "Not a problem."

"Well, look at you. All dressed up in big sister's clothes." Buffy unfolds her arms and slowly walks towards Faith, "You told me I was just like you," they circle and approach each other slowly, "that I was holding it in."

They stand still face to face. Faith takes one more step closer to Buffy challenging her, "Ready to cut loose?" Buffy accepts it knowing that it is what has to be done, "try me." "Okay then. Give us a kiss." Buffy pulls out the first punch making Faith loose her balance which she regains quickly.

End Flashback

'Come on Buffy, if you're gonna be thinking about that this whole time there was no point in coming here. Pull yourself together and get past it!' But how did one get past almost killing a person you cared about? 

Everything still looked the same as it did last time, the only difference now was the yellow police tape and no Faith lying on the bed. The window was still broken but had at least been covered with a thin wooden board.

Buffy advanced towards the bed, the comic book Faith had been reading that night was still there 'X-men' Buffy read when she saw the cover. She hadn't seen this last time so hadn't put it into any of the boxes. 'Right, I'm here to get to know Faith. What do I look for?'

She walked towards a cupboard, bent down and opened it, 'Whatever I'm looking for, it isn't gonna be in here seeing as it is completely empty.' She opened a cupboard door next to it, it was empty too except for one shoe box which was hidden all the way it the bottom left corner.

Buffy got it out and took of the lid. What she found was something she hadn't expected at all. There were only pictures in there, loads of pictures from research parties in the library, the canteen, the whole gang on a day out.

As Buffy looked at all the pictures she slowly started to notice something which was always the same. Faith was always on the side, alone. On one there was a picture of the whole group when Faith had just gotten into town, they had gone to some fair not too far out of Sunnydale. A guy taking pictures took a picture of the four of them only it wasn't actually the four of them. Buffy, Willow and Xander where all smiling happily and had put their arms around each other. Faith though was on the side, no contact with 'their little group' and not smiling. 

Buffy had completely forgotten about that day and couldn't believe that they had acted that way. Faith had been happy earlier that day when they first got there, but later on Faith had acted a bit weird, really distant and she seemed sad. Now Buffy got why, they completely ignored her when it had been important to her. 'She probably thought that we didn't want her there or something, I don't actually blame her for thinking that. It looked like we didn't wanna be friends with her.' She put the picture on the pile of photo's she'd looked at already.

An other thing that Buffy slowly noticed was that the pictures without Faith (which she'd obviously taken then) had been mostly focused on Buffy. Willow and Xander were usually in a blur while Buffy was very clear.

There were no pictures of Angel or Giles. The only picture with anyone older was with Joyce, taken on Christmas when Buffy had to leave to save Angel. Faith looked so happy on that picture, the first genuine smile Buffy had seen on any of the pictures there.

As Buffy continued looking through the pictures (she was surprised by how many there actually were) she saw that many of them had been taken when no one was looking, whenever they were busy with something, researching, homework, just talking to each other. They looked so happy. Faith somehow really knew how to work a camera because no matter what the light was like, or the mood, she got Buffy to look beautiful, full of emotion and literally glowing.

Once Buffy was finished one thing was obvious, Faith had cared a lot about them, probably more about Buffy but she'd cared and they'd treated her like shit. Like she wasn't a part of the gang, just an extra slayer for when things got rough or when Angel wasn't available.

She decided to take that box with her home already and placed it on the bed to make sure she didn't forget. She got up and stretched her legs which had started to hurt after sitting so long.

Next up was Faith's CD collection. Buffy walked to the stereo system and opened the door which was under it. There where barely any CD's there, with all the money the mayor had Buffy thought that Faith would have used it. This just proved how little she actually knew about Faith…

One of the CD's which Buffy found was from Enya, it was the same one Buffy had. Angel had given it to her so that she could use that when she was meditating or doing Tai Chi. Once when Faith and Buffy had done that together and put the CD on Faith had laughed at Buffy, calling it crap and that the beat was too soft and way too slow. Buffy smiled to herself as she thought that Faith had actually enjoyed that afternoon but frowned when she realised she hadn't been able to see through that lie.

She tossed it onto the bed next to the shoe box without looking up as she used her other hand to take the next CD, it was from Nine Inch Nails so she tossed that towards the previous one.

The last CD Buffy found was a mixed CD Faith had made herself. It didn't say what band it was or any names of the songs on the back. Buffy opened the case, the first thing she noticed was an other picture. It had been taken a day when Faith and Buffy had been hanging together without the gang. They had gone to a lake a couple of miles out of Sunnydale, how Faith had known about the place was a mystery to Buffy. They had swam there and sparred a bit. It had been great, they'd gotten some guy to take a picture of them together.

Faith had different that day, she'd been at peace, wasn't showing off (too much anyway) and she didn't have that tough demeanour going on. When they got back to Sunnydale her walls went up again.

Buffy put the picture on the ground next to her on the ground and was about to put on the CD when she realised that they'd already packed it up. Luckily she had her discman on her instead of the mp3. She looked through the play list as soon as the first song started. As she read all the titles she realised that all of the songs, except for the last two, were by Linkin Park. The last two songs on the list surprised Buffy, one was from Natasha Bedingfield These Words and the other was by Nelly Furtado Saturdays

She would listen to these songs later on because as she listened to the song one part of the lyrics stood out more than the others, "Everybody acts like the fact of the matter is I can't add up to what you can", she remembered Faith saying that everybody asked her to be more like Buffy when Faith thought that Angel was turned into Angelus.

The song finished and a new one started, Buffy vaguely knew this one and decided to listen to the lyrics more intently, she had a feeling that these songs were about how Faith had felt.

I'm tired of being what you want me to be/Feeling so faithless/Lost under the surface/I don't know what you're expecting of me/Put under the pressure/Of walking in your shoes/Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow/Every step that I take is another mistake to you/  
I've become so numb  
I can't feel you there  
Become so tired  
So much more aware  
I'm becoming this  
All I want to do  
Is be more like me  
And be less like you/  
Can't you see that you're smothering me/Holding too tightly/Afraid to lose control/'Cause everything that you thought I would be/Has fallen apart right in front of you/Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow  
Every step that I take is/Another mistake to you/Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow  
And every second I waste/Is more than I can take/  
I've become so numb  
I can't feel you there  
Become so tired  
So much more aware  
I'm becoming this  
All I want to do  
Is be more like me  
And be less like you  
And I know  
I may end up failing too/But I know/You were just like me/With someone disappointed in you/  
I've become so numb  
I can't feel you there  
Become so tired  
So much more aware  
I'm becoming this  
All I want to do  
Is be more like me  
And be less like you  
I've become so numb  
I can't feel you there  
I'm tired of being what you want me to be  
I've become so numb  
I can't feel you there  
I'm tired of being what you want me to be

As the song finished Buffy was crying silently, Faith had been feeling like this. Buffy was sure that the rest of the CD would be like this as well so turned it off to take it home and listen to it there instead. She put the picture back into the case as well. She then got up and walked towards the bed to get the other pictures and CD's.

She looked at the board put up in front of the broken window.

Flashback  
Faith breaks the handcuffs so Buffy rolls out of the way, as she does she pulls out Faith's knife, "that's mine!" Buffy looks into Faith's eyes, "You're about to get it back." They exchange a couple of blows, Faith dodges the knife.

They move to the edge of the balcony and Faith holds Buffy there. "Man, I'm going to miss this." Buffy breaks Faith's grip and plunges the knife into Faith's gut. Both of them looked stunned, first at the knife and then at each other. Faith smiles weakly, "you did it," she pushes Buffy away from her, "you killed me."

Faith climbs onto the low wall at the edge of the balcony and looks down. "Still won't help you boy, though. Shoulda been there, B, quite a ride." Faith drops herself backwards off the wall and lands on the back of a moving truck. Buffy still sits on the ground in shock.

End Flashback

Buffy shook off the guilt she was feeling and put Faith's things in a small plastic bag, she dried her tears with the end of her sleeve and opened the door. With one last look into the apartment she closed the door. Leaving what was in the past behind her, and feeling more determent than before to make it work with Faith once she woke up.


	6. Having Faith

Sorry that you had to wait so long for the update, university is getting bussier so I wont be able to update as often as I'd like, of course I'll try to update as often as possible..

* * *

Months went by and nothing changed. Well not for Faith anyway. She was still in the hospital, still in a coma. People came into the hospital and left again, Faith stayed there. She didn't leave, she couldn't leave.

Buffy's life however had been turned upside down and swirled around for a little bit. College wasn't exactly what she had expected it to be but she'd adjusted eventually. It was weird in the beginning to not have Angel stalking her all the time, but it didn't take too long before she got a new stalker, Riley.

Riley, though, wasn't exactly like what Angel had been and hadn't been the first guy who was after Buffy.

First there was Parker. He seemed like a nice enough guy, until Buffy slept with him and got ignored by him that was. Poor Buffy felt betrayed and like shit, so she decided to do like any other girl her age would do. Get drunk with other college guys she didn't know. Too bad for Buffy though, because the beer she drank was cursed, turning anyone who drank it into a cave-man/woman. Or as Xander observed, a cave-slayer.

Buffy eventually dealt with the one-night-stand with Parker and moved on, accepting that Parker was a dick and couldn't be changed. This was when Riley, a TA for Psychology, decided he'd try his move on Buffy. One date he got but that was enough time for Buffy to decide that this all-American Iowa boy was as interesting as a broken table lamp.

Buffy, being the nice girl she is, let him down easy. Riley, being the dumb ass he is, couldn't take a hint.

To get Riley off of her back, Buffy decided to tell him a tiny white lie. She said that she was a lesbian and currently dating Willow, the date with him was only to suppress her inner urges. Not long afterwards though Willow actually confessed she was gay, but that will be explained later.

Riley and Buffy stayed friends, mostly because Riley was a part of something called the Initiative, a human army collecting demons to do experiments on them. It was nice to have a back-up team. Until they decided to make their own demon 'Adam' and getting killed by it.

Even though Buffy's new life consumed a lot of her time, she never forgot about Faith. After patrol she'd usually stop by and her Saturdays were reserved for Faith only, it was named 'Faith-day' by Buffy and no one would be able to spend time with Buffy except for if they spend it in the hospital with her. This didn't happen too often though. Buffy had also given her phone number to Faith's doctor and nurses so that if there was any change they could contact her immediately.

* * *

Xander came back from his trip during the first week of college, he ran into a sad Buffy at the Bronze. She was sad because she felt like she didn't fit in at college.

They hugged and exchanged stories. The night started great but ended in a fight; Buffy had told Xander about what she had planned for Faith. His reaction had been anticipated, but that didn't make it any easier.

Willow, being the good friend she is, talked to Xander and convinced him that it was probably for the best to help Faith once she woke up.

After a week of no talking between Buffy and Xander, they met up, talked, hugged and moved on.

Xander started a job at the local college bar as a bartender, needing the money, hoping to pick up girls and wanting to stay close to his friends.

He didn't pick up any girls, but not to worry, Anya the ex-vengeance demon came back to town because she missed Xander. They had sex and later became a couple. Still dating now.

* * *

Willow and Oz were the perfect couple, she was a witch, he a werewolf. Everything was fine, until he cheated on her with an other werewolf, Veruca.

Not long after he had cheated on Willow (he had been in wolf-form, as had the other werewolf), he decided it was better if he left to try to get control over his wolf-self.

Willow was devastated, nothing could make her feel better. This went on for a long time until one faithful night 'The Gentlemen' came to Sunnydale and stole all the voices from the people living there.

Tara, a fellow wiccan, looked for Willow wanting to do a spell to get their voices back. They had met in the wicca meetings on campus, the two of them being the only real witches.

That night a very special friendship blossomed. (It was also the night Buffy found out that Riley was a part of this so-called Initiative.)

Willow and Tara did many spells together and eventually started a relationship that was more than being 'just friends'.

Since Willow didn't want to keep secrets from her best friend, knowing that it would drive them apart eventually, she decided to come out to her.

Flashback

Willow opens the dorm room door after staying yet an other night at Tara's. She has decided to tell Buffy exactly where the two of them are in their relationship. She looks around the room, sees that Buffy's bed is unmade and that her toiletries are gone.

Buffy is obviously in the shower, so this gives Willow a little more time to figure out how to tell Buffy that she has a girlfriend.

Buffy walks into the room only wearing a towel and carrying her toiletries in a little bag in her hand.

Willow sits on the edge of the bed nervous. "Hey Buffy," she squeaks. Buffy is started and almost drops her towel (too bad she didn't…), "shit, Will! You scared me." "Buffy? Could we talk?" Buffy turns around with a sweater in her hand, "Yeh, sure. Just give me a minute to get dressed."

As Willow sits waiting for Buffy to get ready and she just gets more and more nervous. She is so lost in her own little world that she doesn't even notice the hot little blonde sitting down next to her on the bed.

"What was it you wanted to talk about Will?"

No reply.

"Will. You OK?"

Buffy moves herself to sit cross legged on the middle of the bed and motions for Willow to do the same.

"I have something to tell you bit I'm not sure how to. I don't want to keep this a secret because that would mean I would have to lie to you. And I know that if we lie to each other, smaller things will become bigger things and eventually we'll fall apart and I'd have to move to a different dorm room and ---"

Buffy cuts off Willow rambling, wanting to know what her best friend is trying to tell her.

"Will. Breathe. Now, tell me, what's up?"

Willow listens to Buffy and takes a few deep breaths before starting again.

"You know that girl I've been telling you about?"

"Tara?"

"Yeh. The thing is, we've become really good friends, like really close."  
Buffy smiles at her best friend, happy she's found someone else beside the Scooby gang to hang out with. "That's great Will."

Willow sighs, "no, I mean like really close friends." Buffy just looks at Willow, not getting it.

Willow is looking at Buffy expectantly, scared for her reaction. Buffy finally figures out was she means.

"Oh! You mean like you and Tara are together…… like girlfriends, dating?" Buffy asks, wanting to be sure she got it right. Willow slowly nods, still not sure if Buffy's reaction was a good one or not.

Buffy leans forward to hug Willow, "that's great Will. Really. I'm happy for you." They let go of each other again and Willow just looks confused, "you're not freaked?"

Buffy just smiles, "no, why should I be freaked? I had noticed that you were happier, now I know why. I'm glad she makes you happy." She smiles widely at her red headed friend, the smile slowly turns into a grin. A grin that reminds Willow too much of Faith's.

"What?"

"You into pussy now then?" Willow turns bright red, ready to harm Buffy in a serious way, until Buffy can't hold it anymore and just laughs. "God Will, you should have seen your face! I'm sorry, maybe it's a bit too early for those kind of comments."

They continue laughing until Buffy gets a hold of herself and becomes serious again.

"Seriously Will, I'm happy for you and thank you for trusting me to tell me about this. you should know that I'd never judge you about anything." Buffy smiles softly before continuing, "I do wanna meet her though, you should bring her to the next Scooby meeting."

"Have you told any of the others yet?"

Willow shakes her head 'no', "you wanna tell them after they've met Tara then?"

"Not yet, telling you was hard enough for now. It does make everything easier though. And like you just said, I want them to meet Tara first."

End Flashback

Willow eventually told Anya, Xander and Giles, that was after Oz had shown up on Giles' doorstep though.

He thought that he would be able to get back with Willow again, but she told him that she'd moved on. To Tara.

While Willow had been doing that Buffy had kept Tara company and told her not to worry about Willow choosing Oz over her 'cause that wasn't gonna happen. Ever.

The whole gang had been supportive about Willow's relationship with Tara. Tara had become an important member of the gang now, just like Anya had.

* * *

As you can see, this year, which wasn't even over yet, had been quite a stressful time for Buffy and her friends. To relieve some of this stress that had built up because of Adam's resent escape, the whole gang (which didn't include Riley), went to the Bronze. They'd asked Giles if he wanted to come but he had politely declined.

Anya and Xander went to Xander's basement to, as Anya said, have a lot of wild sex and use hot candle wax for foreplay. They all pretended they hadn't heard that.

Soon after Anya and Xander had left, Tara, Willow and Buffy decided to call it a night too. They had planned a girls night in Buffy's and Willow's dorm.

Tara had been a part of the gang for a while now but didn't talk a lot, therefore Buffy didn't know a lot about her. She wanted to change that tonight.

As the three girls walked into the room the phone rang. Since Buffy was the closest she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Good evening, I apologize for calling at this hour but could I speak to a Buffy Summers please?"

"This is her."

"Oh good. This is nurse Elizabeth from Sunnydale Memorial. I was told that any information regarding Faith Wilkins was to be delivered to you immediately."

"Yes, I know that. What is it? Is she OK?" Buffy started to panic slightly, Faith couldn't die, not now, not after those long months of fighting the coma she was in,

"Is she ---"

"Oh no, no, quite the contrary actually. I have called to inform you that Faith has just woken up about 10 minutes ago."

Buffy dropped the phone as she fainted. Willow quickly picked it up while Tara looked after Buffy.

"Hello?" Silence, "Yes." More silence, "Thank you, we'll be over in about 20 minutes, good night."

Willow hung up the phone and helped Tara with Buffy. Tara looked at her girlfriend expectantly,

"Faith's awake."


	7. Seeing Faith

Disclaimer - none of these characters are mine  
Time line - season 4/AU

* * *

Willow, Tara and Buffy walked into the hospital, not knowing what to expect from Faith when meeting her. Once they got to Faith's room, Willow and Tara decided it would be better if they waited outside while Buffy went in there to meet Faith first.

Buffy slowly opened the door, expecting to see Faith lying on the bed like she'd done for the past couple of months. Or at least seeing Faith standing next to the bed demanding to be released while the nurse and doctor tried to convince her it would be best if she stayed there for a while.

What Buffy saw, however, wasn't any of those scenarios. The room was empty, except for Faith's nurse changing the bed sheets, the flowers that Buffy had gotten for Faith weren't there anymore either.

Buffy frowned slightly and then decided to ask the nurse what was going on.

"Excuse me, Emily, do you know where they put Faith? I just got a call about that she woke up."

Emily looked up, recognizing Buffy's voice immediately and smiled.

"Don't worry Buffy. She'll be here in a minute, Jason in just doing a physical check-up on her."

Buffy went to 'her' chair and sat down in it, relieved that Faith hadn't left already.

After about 5 minutes, which seemed like an eternity to Buffy, the door opened. The doctor walked into the room with Faith who was sat in a wheelchair.

Time stopped for Buffy as Faith turned her head to look at her, they caught each others eyes. Both were silent not sure what to say to each other. Buffy saw that Faith's eyes were cold, for a moment it seemed as if something else was there, fear, but Buffy couldn't be sure. All Faith saw was regret, sorrow and love? but she wasn't sure about the last one. What she didn't see though were anger, hate and disappointment which surprised her. Faith didn't show this, not wanting Buffy to be able to read her, but she didn't succeed. Buffy had seen it.

"Hey Faith." Buffy said softly, not sure how Faith would react to a talking Buffy.

"Hi B, guess you won then seeing you here alive and kicking. Who would've thought?" Faith's voice was like ice, but that had been expected so Buffy decided to ignore it since she didn't want to start this second chance with a fight.

The room was filled with tension but the doctor didn't seem to notice as he pushed the wheelchair forward, put it next to the bed and prepared himself to help Faith onto the bed.

While the nurse and doctor took their time to help Faith, Buffy took her time to examine Faith.

Faith had gotten skinnier during her coma, but that was expected and Buffy had seen it happen. Buffy had told the doctors that Faith's metabolism worked a lot faster then the average human. The doctors kept this in mind whenever they fed her through the tubing system.

Faith was quite pale, but not as pale as someone would've been after waking up from an 8 month coma. This was probably because Buffy had always kept the window open whenever she was there and the weather was nice, it was just to let Faith get some fresh air while she was stuck inside.

As Faith's legs were lifted up to the bed Buffy could see the loss of the firm muscles, her legs looked very weak and were a lot thinner than Buffy remembered them to be.

When Buffy was examining how Faith was being helped by the doctor and Emily she slowly realised that Faith actually needed help. She also realised that Faith had been brought into the room in a wheelchair and that she hadn't used her legs at all since she came into the room.

The doctor walked away from the bed and Emily left the room. Buffy could see how exhausted Faith looked right then, just from having to get back into a bed.

Not wanting to let the silence turn into and awkward one again, Buffy decided to find out what was wrong with Faith, how fast she would recover and when she would be allowed to leave the hospital. But Buffy was beaten to it by Faith.

"Hey doc, when can I leave this place?" Faith tried her best to ignore Buffy's presence in the room but it was getting a lot harder since Buffy was looking at her the whole time.

"That depends on your recovery and when ms. Summers will be able to take you in, when that is is mostly up to Buffy, so my guess is that it will be very soon." The doctor smiled at Buffy.

"What is wrong with Faith's legs?" Buffy asked, not wanting to deal with when Faith would move in right now, she knew that Faith would want to say something about it. But with the doctor in the room it wouldn't be such a great idea.

"It is very common with coma patients that their legs don't work for a while because of the lack of exercise and leg movements. Because of the lack of exercise, the muscles in the legs become extremely weak and cannot be used. With physiotherapy, however, the muscles are trained and shouldn't cause too many problems. She should be able to walk again in a few months."

Buffy frowned as she heard this news.

"But what about the leg movement you told me to do with her, the exercises? I thought that was supposed to prevent this from happening, that was what you told me Jason."

Faith looked up at Buffy. Buffy had been visiting and she knew the doctor by first name, this surprised Faith and confused her slightly. 'She probably came here to make sure that when I woke up I would get my ass kicked or something… But didn't she just say that she had tried to prevent this not walking thing from happening?'

The more Faith thought about it the more confused she got. She had to talk to Buffy about whatever it was that was going on.

Faith really wanted to be acting like a bitch towards Buffy and give her the cold shoulder but as Buffy and Jason continued discussing Faith she noticed that Buffy was trying to get Faith released straight away.

While Buffy and Jason were talking, Faith took her time to look through the room where she had spent the last eight months of her life without even knowing about it.

She saw a clock on the wall which she recognized to be Buffy's. Next to her bed, on the nightstand, she saw a couple of get-well-soon cards. 'Who would've given me cards? The only person who actually cared about me was the mayor, and apparently he is dead.'

"We should go sign those release papers then and then you can go make a first appointment with the physiotherapist here."

Buffy was about to close the door when she turned around to look at Faith, "It's good to have you back again Faith." Buffy smiled at her and then closed the door, leaving a already confused Faith even more confused.

"Ok, what the fuck is going on here? Did I wake up in an other dimension?!" She asked no one in particular.

Faith looked at the cards again, curious about who had given them.

"Dear Faith, I'm really sorry about everything that has happened between us. I hope we can work things out once you've woken up. Buffy"

'So she actually wants things to work out now? This could be a scheme though. Shouldn't trust her quite yet though.' Faith grabbed the next card and recognized the handwriting at once.

"Faith. Buffy has told me about her plans for when you wake up. It would be great if you agreed to them. Don't worry I'm not taking anything of what you did personally, that's including the poisoning. It's all forgiven. From Angel.  
PS. I wouldn't recommend coming here for a while though, Cordelia and Wesley aren't as forgiving. I'll see what I can do about that though after you and I have talked."

'Angel survived??? Shit, that means that B must've given him her blood… I guess she really loved him to let him do that to her, knowing that it could kill her.'

There were two other cards but Faith didn't get to read them since Buffy just walked into the room.

Buffy sat down in 'her' chair again, not really knowing what to actually say now that Faith was awake.

"How you feeling?" Buffy could've slapped herself for asking such a stupid question, 'How do you think she feels? She just woke up from a coma you put her in!'

Faith looked at Buffy for a moment, again wondering what kind of game she was playing at.

"Like I was stabbed in the gut and then woke up from an eight month coma. What about you?" her voice was still very cold but not as bad as before.

Faith's words, although Buffy had expected them, stung deeply.

"Oh well, you know, nervous, terrified, scared I'm gonna say the wrong things."

Buffy decided to go with honesty and ignore the extremely cold voice that was coming from Faith. If she wanted things to work out this time she would have to be honest and very patient.

Faith was getting more confused again. Why was Buffy being nice to her? And didn't the doctor say something about her moving in with Buffy?

"Ok B. What game are you playing at here?" Faith wanted to know, she couldn't figure it out and was getting desperate. She didn't have the energy to do this shit.

"You're being nice to me while I'm like stone towards you. Apparently you have been here often seeing you know the doc's first name. I have a card from you, one from Angel and two others. Angel's said something about a plan of yours, and while we're at it, how did Angel survive? You feed yourself to him? Why? And where is that 'here' he was talking about, why are Wes and Cordy with him? And the doc said something about me being released depended on when you could take me in. What the fuck is going on here?!"

Faith wasn't sure if she wanted to scream out the last sentence or whisper it, both would show a sign of weakness she thought. Since she was so desperate, confused and tired she just whispered it really softly, surprising Buffy with the tone of her voice.

While Faith had been rambling though, Buffy had gotten out of her chair and walked towards Faith's side. She sat down on Faith's bed and took Faith's hands in her own, wanting to comfort her and calm her down.

"Faith, breathe, relax. I'll explain everything."

Buffy took a deep breath before starting her explanation.

"Angel survived because he fed off of me, as you probably figured out yourself. He lives in LA, Cordelia and Wesley are there with him. They are helping the helpless or something and have called themselves 'Angel Investigations'."

Buffy took an other breath before continuing, she figured that if she herself was calm and relaxed Faith would eventually feel more at ease and relax too.

"I'm being nice because I'm sorry for what happened before, I was being a bitch and should've helped you instead of ditching you like that. We can talk more about that later, we sorta have to… The plan Angel was talking about is something I thought of not too long after graduation."

"How did you survive the Ascension Day? I thought that the mayor would've killed all of you." Faith interrupted.

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what B? I was sorta unconscious." Faith tried to give Buffy a smile but it turned into a grin instead.

"After you jumped off of the building onto the truck I went back to Angel."  
Both slayers flinched slightly at the memory of the fight. Faith because she had lost and Buffy because she had won it.

"I cured him with my blood. Since I had lost so much of it he had to bring me to the hospital. I was unconscious for a few hours. You were lying opposite me, a curtain separating us. We shared a dream. You told me how we could beat him. Because of you we won the battle, we wouldn't have been able to done it without you."

"I told you how to beat the mayor??? Wait, was I speaking in riddles or something? Yeh, I was. And we were fixing a bed, and there was a cat. Shit, I remember that now."

They both smiled at the good memory of when they weren't fighting but just talking normally to each other, or at least as normal as riddles get.

"Right, the plan," Buffy remembered, "after graduation I pretty much spent all my time here, talking to you, hoping you would wake up. I wanted to have a second chance with you, an other chance to actually make it work. I want us to be friends, and I don't mean like it was before, but a real friendship you know."

Faith thought for a moment before replying again, Faith had lost all the hatred and anger towards Buffy and she was surprised it had happened so fast. It was probably 'cause she could see that Buffy was being genuine and really wanted things to work out.

"I want that too, believe me. And it sounds great and all, but B, where am I gonna live? What about the police? I'm pretty sure that they're after me again now that the mayor isn't here to keep 'm off of my back."

Buffy smiled, knowing that what she would say now would surprise Faith even more than the previous things.

"Willow removed the police files, you're a free girl."

'My free girl… Ok, where the hell did that just come from?!'

"Red did that? Shit… gotta say that I'm really surprised, appreciating but surprised. But where am I gonna live?"

"You have a room at my house, we have your things there and the room itself has been finished for months. But because of paralysis it would be best if you lived in my dorm until you can walk. I'll be able to help you better because of the slayer strength and my mom is out of town for the next 2 weeks anyway. I'm sharing the dorm with Will but I'm sure she wont mind staying at Tara's for a while."

Buffy looked at the time and then got up from the bed, she let go of Faith's hands, just realizing she had been holding them the whole time. She got the wheelchair and put it next to the bed, then she went to the other side of the bed to get Faith's clothes from the bottom of the nightstand. She had put them there for when Faith woke up.

"Will you need help getting dressed? If you want me to I can wait outside."

Faith looked at her clothes and then up at Buffy. Faith hated asking for help but if they both wanted things to change for the better things actually had to change. Buffy had decided to become less of a stuck-up-bitch so Faith decided she could be less of a bad-ass and ask for help.

"I can't really put on my pants, seeing as my legs are pretty much useless right now and can't move on their own." This was as close as she could get, for now.

Buffy smiled at Faith, knowing that things would definitely change this time round. She helped Faith get dressed and then helped her into the wheelchair.

"We still have to go by the physiotherapist to make an appointment. After that we'll see Willow and Tara."

"I've seen them already. I saw them right before we went back here, Red said you were in here but I already knew. Slayer tingles, gotta love them. Hey, did you know that Red ain't driving stick anymore? When I saw her she was making out with some blonde chick, Tara I'm assuming. What happened to Oz? You gotta tell me all the shit that's been down while I was out."

Buffy smiled to herself as Faith got excited about getting a second chance, a new life to do better.

"Yeh I know Willow is gay, Tara's her girlfriend. A lot has happened but don't worry, I'll tell you everything."

Buffy pushed the door open and then follow with Faith in the wheelchair. She would have to ask Willow to pick up the few things left in the hospital room while Buffy and Faith were talking with the physiotherapist.

She closed the door behind her and headed into a new life. A life with Faith as her friend instead of her enemy.

It wouldn't be all easy though, they both knew that they were in for a bumpy ride but Buffy was sure that they would be able to get past it. Together.

* * *

A/N I just wanted to thank everybody who has been reviewing this story, I appreciate it a lot :D. Will try to get the next part up as soon as possible.. 


	8. Helping Faith

Thank you again for the reviews. I know that many authors say that that makes them write faster, I wish I could say the same.. It all just depends on the workload I get from uni.. All reviews are appreciated though :)

Oh yeh, these are not my characters. If they were they'd still be on TV and Buffy and Faith would've been an item...

* * *

Faith and Buffy left the hospital with Willow and Tara, they went to Buffy's dorm room straight away. Willow would be sleeping at Tara's didn't walk the whole way with Buffy and Faith.

Things between Faith and Willow had been a bit tense at the hospital but after Faith apologized sincerely and thanked Willow for what she had done (removing the police files) things loosened up a bit.

Willow hadn't forgiven Faith yet because she wanted to see Faith change, not only hear Faith saying that she was going to change. Faith knew this and hadn't expected anything different.

Tara and Faith hadn't met each other before so Faith didn't need to worry about seeking forgiveness from her. Tara had told Faith though that if Faith hurt Willow again, she would hunt down the slayer and show her real pain.

Faith saw the sincerity behind that threat and knew then, straight away, that although Tara was a quiet one she was most definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Things between Faith and Buffy were good, they were being nice and both wanted to start over, forgetting the past. Faith knew that Buffy still felt bad about stabbing her so she always tried to reassure Buffy that it had to be done and that it was ok.

Although they were both trying to move on from their history there was one thing that Faith couldn't get over, no matter how hard she tried.

Buffy.

Faith still felt the same way about her. She tried to ignore her feelings for Buffy but it didn't work. It hadn't worked the first time 'round and it didn't seem to work now either.

Buffy was oblivious to Faith's feelings towards her, just like she had been the year before.

* * *

Buffy opened the door to her dorm room, number 214 Faith noticed, she then pushed the wheelchair into the room.

"So this is mine and Will's room…" Buffy walked over to Willow's bed and removed the sheets to replace them with new ones that Faith could use.

Faith looked around the room, it was sorta what she'd expected. It was girly, but not too girly, she was just happy it wasn't pink.

Willow's side of the room was very tidy and there was a very old 'Dingoes Ate My Baby' poster on the wall. Willow's desk was full of books, papers and binders, there were a few highlighters as well. Faith saw a bookshelf which was filled, she could see that they weren't school books but books about witchcraft.

Buffy's side of the room wasn't very different, it was pretty much the same actually Faith noticed. There were a few small differences though. Buffy's bookshelf for instance was only half filled, with a few books about demons and some 'normal' reading books. Instead of posters on the wall, Buffy had a huge picture frame filled with pictures. 'Like a picture collage thing.'

Faith moved closer to the frame to examine the pictures. Most of them were with Xander and Willow, there was also one from Giles and an other with her mom. Buffy's graduation picture was there as well, Faith subconsciously rubbed her stomach when looking at it. There were other pictures with people Faith had never seen before, she assumed they were old friends from Hemery in LA. There was one picture that stood out to Faith though, it was the one of her and Buffy. The one of the day they had gone to the lake together.

Faith turned her wheelchair around to look at Buffy. Buffy was just done with changing the sheets and looked up to see Faith frowning at her.

"What's wrong Faith?"

"Where did you get that picture?" She asked while pointing out the picture of the two of them.

"When I was getting all your thing from your apartment I found a box of pictures and a few CD's. That picture was in one of the CD cases… I have all your stuff at mom's, we can go there tomorrow if you want to. Do you want the photo back? I'd kinda like to keep it, I really enjoyed that day. Good times, ya know…"

Buffy was babbling now and she knew it, she just wasn't sure about how Faith would react to her going through Faith's apartment and things.

Faith smiled at the memory of that day but then rerun everything Buffy had just said.

"You went through my apartment?"

Buffy nodded slowly, still not knowing if Faith's reaction was good or bad so far.

"My things are at your moms now then? All pictures and CD's?"

Buffy nodded again.

"Cool, thanks for taking care of my things then," she smiled, "and you can keep the picture if you want to. Feels nice being put on the wall you know. The picture I mean, you get what I mean right?"

Buffy laughed a bit and smiled, "yeh I get it, and thanks, I really enjoyed the day so wanted to have something to remind me of it."

Buffy looked at her alarm clock and saw that it was quite late, or very early, depending how you looked at it. It was nearly 4 am.

Faith had only been awake for a few hours but she felt like she'd been up for days.

Buffy remembered the phone call she'd gotten around 11.30 pm, just three and a half hours ago, about Faith's awakening.

The slayer yawned, really noticing how tired she was. "I don't know about you Faith, but I'm beat."

"Yeh, so am I. Weird, I've been sleeping for 8 months and I wake up tired."

She rolled herself to Willow's bed which she would be calling her own for now. Buffy got Faith a t-shirt and some boxers to sleep in, she gave them to Faith so that she could change.

The top Faith could change easily but seeing that she was still in the wheelchair and unable to move her legs she needed help with her boxers.

Faith hated feeling so helpless. She had always been helpless when she was younger so people took advantage of her or she was helpless because people took advantage of her. Anyway, point was, Faith couldn't stand it to feel like this.

Buffy, after she was done changing, saw that she had to help Faith again.

First she held onto the wheelchair so that it wouldn't move when Faith pulled herself out of it. Once Faith was on the bed Buffy removed Faith's pants. She helped Faith put on the boxers and then tucked faith in.

Faith had never been tucked in before when she was a kid so this was new to her, she enjoyed it though, especially since Buffy was the one doing it.

Throughout this whole procedure they hadn't said a single word to each other, for some reason it all seemed so surreal.

Buffy kissed Faith on the forehead like she'd done in the hospital 8 months ago, she then turned off the lights and went into her won bed.

After a few minutes of silence Faith heard a small voice call her name.

"Faith?"

"Yeh B?"

"It's really good to have you back."

Faith felt herself smile before replying.

"It feels good to be back." She said sincerely.

"Goodnight B."

"Goodnight F."

They both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.

* * *

Early the next morning when Faith woke up she knew straight away that this would be one of the most embarrassing times of her entire life.

"B" she whispered.

Buffy didn't reply.

"Buffy" she said a bit louder.

Buffy started to stir but didn't wake up completely.

"Buffy" Faith was speaking at a normal tone, not bothering to speak softly anymore, who ever said she was patient?

"What?!"

Faith looked at her hands before looking at Buffy again.

"I… I uh…"

"Spit it out Faith, you just woke me up, better be important."

"I gotta go to the bathroom" Faith mumbled but due to her slayer hearing Buffy heard it.

"Oh, sorry. Just give me a minute."

Buffy got out of her bed and moved the wheelchair next to Faith's bed. She was cursing herself for moving it away in the first place. She then helped Faith into the chair and brought her to the bathroom which was opposite their room.

As Buffy opened the bathroom door she ran into an obstacle she hadn't thought of at all, she never had any problems with it before so just hadn't thought of it. She cursed herself for the second time that very early morning.

'How could I have forgotten about the fucking doorstep?'

She turned around to look at Faith. She thought for a moment and then moved towards Faith, picked her up and carried her over the obstacle that had been bothering her.

"What you doin'?"

"Would take too much time trying to get the chair in here, they should really have a handicap bathroom."

Faith opened a cubicle she was close to so that Buffy could carry her into it.

"Right, how do we do this then?" Buffy asked.

"How about you put my feet on the ground but hold me up. That way I can drop the pants, then you place me on the toilet and give me a minute."

Buffy did that and left the cubicle to give Faith some privacy.

Buffy put Faith back into the wheelchair and brought her back to their room.

* * *

When Faith woke up the second time that day it was 2 pm already. She looked around but didn't see anyone, Buffy's bed had been made and was nowhere to be seen.

The phone had been put onto Faith's night stand for if Faith needed to call someone 'Who would I call? I don't know any of the phone numbers from the people I know.' Next to the phone there was a small note.

"Good morning Faith,  
I just went out to get some breakfast, I'll be back around 2. Later on we can go by my moms and pick up some of your stuff. I have to go there anyway, it's laundry day. After that we should stop by Giles's. I have my cell with me if you need anything. It's speed dial 3.  
Buffy."

Faith smiled to herself, it really seemed as if Buffy did want to be friends like she'd said and wasn't just lying about it.

As Faith placed the note back on the night stand the door slowly opened. Buffy walked in quietly with a bag in her hand which obviously contained the food. Behind her Willow and Tara were walking hand in hand.

Buffy put the bag on her desk and turned around to see Faith already awake.

"Hey you." She said softly, "you're awake."

"Yeh" Faith replied, just as soft as Buffy had. 'What the is going on here, why is there softness?'

"You been up long?"

Willow and Tara sat down on Buffy's bed, Faith nodded to them, acknowledging them. Tara smiled and Willow gave a small wave.

"No, woke up like 5 minutes before you walked in. You got good timing girlfriend, I'm starved. Ready for some real food."

Faith used her arms to set herself up straight against the bed board behind her. Buffy gave Faith some bagels and sat down next to her.

Faith turned to the two quiet witches.

"Don't you guys want any?" She offered.

"Oh, no thanks. We just had some, that's were we ran into Buffy." Willow said.

"We were on our way here actually, I needed some of the spell books that Will has." With that said Tara got up and looked through the books looking for the right ones.

"Oh B, I didn't get to thank you."

"Thank me?" Buffy looked at Faith questionably.

"Yeh, about this morning. You know, with the whole…" Faith said softly while making some weird hand movements trying to explain what she meant with out actually saying it.

"Don't worry about it Faith, it's all good." Buffy replied, again with that softness. This was confusing the both of them a lot but not as much as it was confusing Willow. Tara just had a knowing smile plastered on her face but no one saw as her back was turned to them.

"What happened this morning then?" Willow wondered.

"Faith just needed some help with something and I helped her out."

Before Willow could ask what that thing was Tara stood up with some books in her hands.

"I got what we needed. You want to try that spell now?"

"Sure, the sooner the better I guess."

Buffy didn't bother to ask what it was because she was sure she wouldn't understand half of it anyway.

Tara and Willow left but first made sure that Buffy promised to call them when she was on her way to Giles'.

Faith finished her bagel and got lost in her own thoughts.

While Faith was thinking Buffy was getting a bag to put her laundry in, when she turned around she saw that Faith had started to frown, clearly lost in thoughts.

"What is it Faith?"

Faith snapped out of the daze she was in and looked at Buffy for a minute before answering.

"I was just thinking, how is it gonna work when I need to take a shower?"

"I'm gonna help you with that, help you in the shower and whatever you need help with."

"You mean as in take the shower with me?"

"Yeh, what else would I do?" Buffy said as if it was no big deal.

"Dunno… Uhm, I was sorta hoping I could take a shower before we left… Could you-uhm-" "-help you with that? Faith, you're gonna be living here. I'm gonna help you with as much as I can. Getting a little wet isn't gonna stop me."

She got Faith's towel and helped Faith into the wheelchair again, she then put some toiletries on Faith's lap.

At the showers Faith took off her top and Buffy had to help her take off the pyjama pants while holding her up. She put the water on and asked Faith to check the temperature. While Faith felt the water Buffy's eyes wondered down Faith's body.

'Getting wet right now, but like I said, that ain't gonna stop me. Wait, what the hell am I thinking! I'm saying that Faith is making me wet, what the fuck, Faith isn't supposed to make my body react that way. But look at how Faith's body looks like with all that water running down it. Ok, stop right there! No more such thoughts, bad thoughts!'

Buffy tensed as she continued her thoughts, Faith noticed and turned her head to look at Buffy. She hadn't taken her clothes off so se had become wet as well but Faith could see that that wasn't bothering Buffy, it was something else.

"B, you ok? You're completely tense…"

"Huh? Yeh. I'm good. The water hot enough?"

"Yeh, it's fine." Faith could see that whatever Buffy had been thinking about was still bothering her a bit but she was pushing it away. Faith hoped that one day Buffy would confide in her about whatever troubled her. That would take some time though, and Faith knew that.

Buffy helped Faith getting washed and after that dried up. Back in the room Buffy helped Faith get dressed as well. Buffy's thoughts from earlier had freaked her out but pushed them away even further when she saw that Faith looked as if she was gonna cry.

"Faith?"

Faith looked up, trying to hide her tears somehow but it didn't work because Buffy got a hold of her hands.

"Faith, what is it?" Buffy asked worriedly.

"I hate this. This whole being helpless thing. I can't do anything alone, with whatever I do I need someone to be close to me for when I need help. I can't even take a shower alone or go to the bathroom. I even need help getting dressed! I fucking hate this! I hate being helpless."

While Faith was crying more Buffy just held her and stroked her back.

"Faith, it's gonna be ok. I promise you. You're gonna heal, you're gonna walk again. We will work out again and then go slaying. It's all going to be ok. I promise. Ok?"

Faith looked up at Buffy again and nodded, Buffy got a tissue and wiped away Faith's tears. She hugged Faith one last time, gave her a kiss on the forehead and then got up.

"Come on, we're gonna go to my moms."

Faith smiled and was happy that Buffy was there to be supportive and was helping her through this. Faith knew that things were gonna be harder until she was fully recovered but she was determent to recover. With the physiotherapist, her slayer healing and Buffy's help she was sure it wouldn't take too long.

* * *

Since Buffy didn't have a car they had to walk all the way to Revello Drive. Faith didn't mind though, this way she got to spend some time outside, get some fresh air and some sun in her face. It was also nice to see how Sunnydale had changed in the months she was out, or rather, how Sunnydale hadn't changed.

"Home Sweet Home." Buffy said as they moved into the living room.

"I would offer you something to eat but I highly doubt that mom has any food here. She isn't gonna be back until the day after tomorrow."

"That's cool. I'm not hungry anyway." Faith replied.

Buffy looked at Faith in mock terror, "Oh my god! Fait isn't hungry. What's going on? Are you ok?"

"Ha Ha Ha, very funny. I'm just not hungry is all. Excited though."

"Yeh? What are you excited about then?" Buffy asked.

"Wanna know what my room is like ya know, the one in the basement. You were talking about it in the hospital yesterday."

Buffy smiled widely, she had forgotten about the room but now that Faith had reminded her of it she was as excited about it as Faith was.

"We can't take the wheelchair down so I'll have to carry you again. I don't think I've used my slayer strength so much in my daily life like I've done for the past two days."

Buffy smiled at Faith, letting her know that she didn't mind doing all of this.

"Alright, lets get going then. Gotta see your room!"

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A/N - I don't know how long it will take before the next chapter is up, probably on Monday but that's not a promise... Please review, it only takes a few minutes and I read all of them :)


	9. Surprising Faith

Not my characters, just having some fun with them. Originally this chapter was a lot longer but I decided to split it into 2 chapters. I'll post the other part tomorrow if I get time, otherwise the day after that... Hope ya like.

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Buffy carried Faith down the stairs while Faith kept her eyes closed. Buffy then put Faith on her bed which had been placed partly under the stairs. This way if some demon came down the stairs Faith would be able to surprise it by grabbing the feet and making it fall.

"Ok Faith, open your eyes." Buffy said excitedly.

Faith opened her eyes and looked around, completely stunned. She was sat on her two-person bed. At the end of it there was about 1.5 meters about 5 ft space between it and a closet which was placed against the wall, probably for her clothes. Next to it there was a bookshelf which was filled with books on demons, fighting styles and weapons.

A cupboard was attached to the bookshelf above it. Faith didn't know what it was for but she was sure she would find out later.

The wall which was seen first when walking down the stairs was Faith's favourite wall. It was filled with weapons, swords, knives, a crossbow, even the knife given by the mayor was on it.

The floor looked like one big mat from a training room which gave Faith the opportunity to work on some of her moves down here without getting hurt. There was a hook attached to the ceiling which Faith didn't know what was for, as soon as she saw a punching bag in the corner though it was quite obvious.

Basically the room was a mix of a training room and a bed room, it was perfect for Faith.

She looked at Buffy who was sitting next to her.

"Wow… This is so fucking amazing……" She looked around the room again before turning back to Buffy.

"You did this for me?"

Buffy just nodded, very pleased with Faith's reaction.

"Yeh, the gang helped out though. Xander did the weapon thing and made the closet and cupboards. He's becoming quite the handyman. Willow and Tara have done a protection spell around the whole house. Shouldn't be that easy for demons to attack now. So you like then?"

Buffy was still a bit nervous, she didn't know why, Faith obviously loved it.

"Hell yeh. I love it. I got my own place now ya know, a place to call home. You have no clue how much that means to me."

Faith looked Buffy in the eyes to show her that she meant it. They kept on looking at each other and time just seemed to stop. They slowly moved their heads closer towards each other, leaning in for a kiss.

Buffy was a bit nervous but continued to lean towards Faith, it just felt so right.

Just as their lips were about to meet Faith backed off. She sat up straight again liked she had just the moment before.

"Shouldn't we get to Giles? If we come any later than we already are they'll probably think I killed you and send out a search team."

Buffy looked at Faith a bit confused, why had she done that? She ruined the moment they had on purpose. Buffy tried to look Faith in the eyes but that seemed impossible, Faith was looking at anything and everything but her.

"Don't think that they would do that but you're right, we should get to Giles."

She got up, still confused, but had done what they came here to do in the first place so there was no point in delaying the visit to Giles even more. She got a bag and put some of Faith's clothes in it to keep at the dorm. Then she helped Faith.

"I really appreciate this you know, a second chance and you actually giving me a place to live. It means a lot to me."

When Faith said that Buffy understood why Faith had pulled away, Faith didn't want to ruin anything between them now when they had just started over.

"I'm just happy that you are willing to take this chance." She smiled at Faith.

"Before we leave. Can I just ask you something?" Faith looked very serious.

"Yeh, sure."

Faith still looked very serious but couldn't keep her face straight any longer and cracked a smile. "What's in the cupboard above the bookshelf?"

Buffy shook her head, she didn't know what she'd expected but it hadn't been that. "It's a TV. Mom and I figured you'd want one in your room, it has a built in DVD player. Your playstation isn't installed down here, it's in the living room. We got you have a PS2 by the way, figured you'd want that rather than the PS1."

"No fucking way! A playstation 2 came out while I was in a coma? How come you didn't tell me this straight away? That shit is important!"

Faith looked at Buffy in mock anger but again couldn't keep a straight face and just grinned. Buffy just laughed and shook her head again as they continued their way up the stairs and towards Giles'.

* * *

When they arrived at Giles' the other were there already. As they walked inside all eyes turned towards them immediately. Tara and Willow had already talked to Faith so the just smiled to each other.

Xander and Giles were a bit more cautious. Anya didn't really care that much as long as Faith didn't try to take Xander away from her. She had become very protective of Xander and didn't like sharing, unless she was getting some benefits from it in the bedroom.

"Hey guys…" Faith said but Xander didn't reply. She could hear a faint "Hello Faith" from Giles while he was cleaning his glasses.

Buffy closed the door and then lead Faith further into the room where everyone was seated, she sat down on the couch while Faith positioned herself next to the couch to be close to Buffy. Faith then took a deep breath before speaking.

"I just wanted to tell all of you that I'm sorry about what happened before, things just got way out of control ya know and I really wanna make up for that. I'm very thankful that guys are giving me an other chance, I know that it isn't going to be easy but I really want to make this work."

Buffy was holding Faith's hand for support, which Faith appreciated a lot.

Giles did his infamous routine of taking off his glasses, cleaning them for some time while thinking and then putting them on again.

"Well Faith, I believe that you aren't the only one who should be apologizing. So should we. We could have prevented most of this from happening if we'd truly been there for you. I believe that the Gwendolyn Post fiasco did not help matter. Neither did Wesley's methods. I hope you accept my apology and I am happy to give you this second chance if you are willing to give me one too."

Faith smiled widely at Giles, she couldn't remember time where she'd been as happy as this with the gang around.

"Same goes for me Faith. I agree with the G-man over there. I do want you to know that I don't trust you yet. You'll have to earn it."

"No problem. I really appreciate all of this."

Now that the apologies were out of the way they started the real meeting and filled Faith in on the latest threat, Adam.

Halfway through the meeting Riley showed up with some more information, information which was very helpful. It was the sketches and diagrams of Adam which had been used to build him. It showed which demons and demons they had used, and how he functioned.

They had actually found out how to stop Adam, all they had to do now was find out where Adam was hiding out, when they would do face him and how they would do it. Adam's life source was on the inside of his chest and it wouldn't be easy to remove it, it wasn't as if Buffy could ask Adam to stand still while she was removing his life source.

After they had gotten this info they decided to take a break. Xander and Anya left to get donuts, coffee, and whatever else had been asked for. Giles was getting some tea and Buffy had fallen asleep on the couch. Tara and Willow were keeping themselves busy with smoochies. Faith decided to roll outside to smoke a cigarette. Just as she had lit it she heard a voice behind her.

"Those things will kill you, you know." Riley walked past Faith and sat down opposite of her.

"I'm a slayer, we don't usually live that long, it's more likely that I'll get killed by some demon."

"You're the other slayer then, was wondering who you were, I just figured you were Buffy's cousin or something. I've heard a lot about you though."

"Can't say the same about you. Only thing I've been told is that you can't take a hint, no matter how obvious it is."

Riley frowned, he always thought that he was good at those things. He was agent Riley Finn, he was supposed to be good at everything.

"Did you want something?" Faith asked annoyed. Riley didn't reply so she dropped her cigarette on the ground and was about to roll inside again when Riley stopped her.

"Would you like to go out sometime?"

"So not interested Farmboy." She moved away again but was stopped for a second time.

"I don't mean with everyone, just the two of us."

"I got what you meant wannabe slayer. I'm not interested."

"Like a date you know." It was as if Riley wasn't hearing a word Faith was saying to him. Faith turned around with an annoyed expression on her face.

"God how fucking dumb can you be? B was right, you really can't take a hint not even if it bit you in the ass. I've just told you twice that I'm not interested and I've pretty much been ignoring you since you walked in like 2 hours ago. Fuck off, Beefstick."

With that Faith went into the house, leaving a very stunned Riley behind. 'There's clearly something wrong with her. I mean she's turning me down. Buffy did that too. Maybe it's a slayer thing, or maybe I'm too much for them to handle.' When he'd convinced himself that this was true he went back inside, told the gang that he was going, grabbed his coat and left. He was going to find a girl who wouldn't even dream of saying no to him.

The rest of the afternoon the slayers didn't actually do much, they were both exhausted. Faith because she still had to get used being awake and moving around (or as much moving around she could do). She'd fallen asleep a few times in her chair so Xander decided to carry her into the guestroom so that she could sleep properly. When he saw how weak she was he couldn't help but to feel sorry for her.

Buffy had barely slept since they found out about Adam and his escape, the lack of sleep and major stress was finally taking its toll on her. Xander convinced her to just sleep as well and brought her to the same bed as Faith.


	10. Xander And Faith

Internet was down for a few days so I couldn't post this sooner. An other reason for why it couldn't have been posted sooner anyway was because I just finished this chapter about 30 minutes ago. I hadn't actually thought about "hands in new places" as zigpal put it, which I think was pretty stupid of me. So you got zigpal to thank for this chapter, and I thank you too. I think that this chapter does make the story better, helps along a few characters. Criticism is welcome, it can only help me improve my writing. Suggestions are welcomed too, they might be worked into the story -- zigpal's suggestion albeit unintentional got worked into the story, so if it goes with the story line/plot I might use it and I'll credit you.. Of course, if I've already written it into the story or thought about putting it in there and you happen to mention it in a review I'm not gonna credit you for it... -- That was a hint that you should review :P.. Enough with my 'chatter', on with the story..

Oh yeh, these are not my characters obviously

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Lips met each other passionately while a hand was slowly moving up and down the body beneath it. Soft moans could be heard as the lips moved towards the pulse point and started nibbling. "Oh my God… Faith… Don't stop." Faith smiled against the skin of the neck, "wouldn't dream of it B." 

Buffy's hands found Faith's face, pulling her up towards her own lips again, as that was happening, Faith let her hand trail down Buffy's body, enjoying the soft skin. The closer she got to Buffy's hidden treasure the more Buffy would whimper under her, causing Faith to smile. "B, open up your eyes." Buffy did as she was told and looked into the dark brown soulful eyes that were right above her. "I love you, Buffy." Faith smiled again and then kissed Buffy. Her right hand almost reached its destination when she heard a very girly scream.

Slowly Faith opened up her eyes, trying to find out where she was. As she slowly became aware of her surroundings she realized that she was in a soft bed with someone in her arms. 'Where am I? And what is B doing her with me? In my arms no less… Did it actually happen? Was I not dreaming after all?' Faith could hear some muffled voices down stairs and then the girly scream again, Faith chuckled as she realized that it was Xander, 'OK, good. I'm still at Giles'.'

While Faith had been trying to find out where she was exactly, she hadn't noticed that Buffy had slowly woken up and snuggled closer the body next to her, probably not noticing who it actually was.

'Mmmm, soft and warm body… Wait, warm and soft body? What happened and where am I?' Buffy opened up her eyes and recognized the room straight away, she had stayed at Giles' a few times after getting injured and then stayed in the guestroom. As she looked up to see who was in the bed with her she blushed. 'I was snuggling up to Faith. How did I end up in bed with her? I remember falling asleep on the couch after Xander carried Faith up. He must have done the same with me. He's such a sweetie.'

"Hey there B. Should have known you would be a clingy person in bed." Faith's voice was even more husky than usual because of just waking up. Buffy blushed a bit and let Faith go, "sorry about that. Has been a while since I've snuggled up to someone warm… You sleep OK?" "Yeh, it was nice. How did I end up here though?" Faith had trouble looking at Buffy since the images from her very real dream were still floating around in her head. "Xander carried you upstairs, we figured you'd be more comfortable sleeping in a bed rather than your wheelchair." If Faith had been looking at Buffy she would have noticed that she was avoiding looking at her fellow slayer too.

Unknown to Faith, Buffy had had the same dream as her. Buffy had been sure that it was real, it all felt so real. The surroundings, noises and even the smell. She was unable to get rid of the images, she knew she had to though. Faith had made it clear before that she didn't want to be with Buffy, otherwise she would have kissed Buffy when she had the chance. 'It's just wishful thinking, Faith isn't interested in me like that.'

Buffy got out of the bed, needing to escape the room. There was no way that she could stay in the same room with Faith for long, not after that dream. "I'm just gonna grab some food. You want anything?" "No thanks, not hungry." Buffy nodded and left the room, a second or two she came back in, "I'll just let the gang know you're awake and send Xander up to carry you down again." She flashed a quick smile and then left.

Faith grabbed Buffy's pillow and covered her head with it, 'Just kill me now, there is no way I'll be able to keep my hands off of her much longer. Doesn't she realize what's she's doing to me?' As she breathed in she realized her mistake straight away, Buffy's sent was surrounding Faith and there was no way of getting rid of it. She heard a knock on the door, causing her to remove the pillow from her face.

"Hey…Buffy said you were up. You sleep OK?" Xander asked while sitting down on the bed. "Yeh, I did. Thanks for carrying me upstairs." Faith wasn't sure how to behave in Xander's presence, they hadn't exactly talked about what had happened between the two of them last year.

They both sat there in silence until Xander spoke up again; "When I first met Buffy I fell for her straight away. I just knew that there was something different about her, she wasn't like all the other girls. That was confirmed when she didn't completely ignore me, even though I was acting like a goof. And when she choose to hang with Willow instead of Cordelia and her crew, I just knew that this girl would always look beneath the surface rather than just the exterior… Unlucky for me she looked past Angel's exterior too."

Faith just looked confused, "Not that I'm not enjoying this bonding session we've got going on, but why are you telling me this?"

"Because I perfected the Buffy-smitten face, I know when someone else is wearing it. And right now Faith, you are walking around with that face." Faith was about to object furiously when Xander cut her off, "I'm not done with my little story yet. I know Buffy, and I know what she looks like when she's in love. She was like that when Angel was around the whole time, even when he wasn't around." Faith grumbled at the mention of Angel's name, she didn't care for him that much.

"Thing is, she walking around like that now, like he is back again or something… We both know that he's not in town, and the only recent change here in Sunnydale is that you're awake and willing to change." He stopped talking for a bit so that Faith could take in everything he'd said. "You don't need to say anything right now or even next week… Just remember what I've told you, and watch how she acts around you. You might be surprised to find that your feelings are reciprocated." He smiled at her, showing that he was fine with it.

While Faith had been sleeping, he, Giles and Willow had discussed Faith; how she was last year, how much was her fault and how Faith did seem willing to change. They had agreed not to hold a grudge against her since they were at fault as much as Faith had been.

Xander stood up and motioned for Faith to come closer to the edge, he then picked her up and carried her out of the room. "Just keep in mind though, no matter how strong your slayer strength makes you, if you hurt her I will make sure you will feel the same pain and more." He then smiled again and carried her down the stairs. All Faith could think about was, 'what the fuck just happened in there???? He thinks Buffy likes me…' She got a small smile on her face and decided to keep in mind Xander's words, observing Buffy and her actions a lot closer.

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What ya think of it??? There's this really nice button right under here that says 'review' I know it's tempting to click it, go with the temptation... 


	11. Observing Buffy

I know, I know, it's been ages since I've updated so I'll be surprised if there's still people reading this. Thing is, things weren't going too well in my life for the past few months so didnt feel like writing anything for the story and I've been busy with uni. However, I've moved on from that shit now, have some chapters written so I'll have material to update again. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter :).

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The weeks following Xander's and Faith's talk went by slowly, researching everything they could about Adam and trying to find a way to defeat him. They hadn't been able to get rid of him yet, there were two reasons for this.

One; To defeat Adam one would have to know where he was. They hadn't seen or heard anything from Adam for a long time. This worried them all because it meant that Adam was planning something bigger than they had first assumed.

Two; Faith wasn't in shape to do big fights yet. She could walk and went on patrols with Buffy but she wasn't ready to take on Adam. Neither was Buffy, but Faith had more time than Buffy to train so whenever Faith was at the Magic Box or in her room at Revello Drive she would train. She was training for hours, she was getting stronger but she wasn't as strong as she used to be yet.

Giles had bought the Magic Box after the previous owner had been killed by an other vampire attack. Xander, who had quit his job at the local bar and had gone into construction instead, had built a training room in the back for the Slayers. They used it quite a lot, Faith whenever she had time and didn't have to research, and Buffy when she got out of class at the end of the day. They sparred quite a lot as well improving their techniques.

That Faith was able to walk seemed quite sudden to the gang, it wasn't though. Faith had been going to a physiotherapist since the week after she had come out of her coma. She went there 3 times a week because she wanted to be able to walk, she had never been known for a patient person and she wasn't about to change that now. First she wanted to go everyday but the person who was helping her told that it wouldn't be such a good idea, it would have been too strenuous. She was taught exercises which helped to speed up the recovery. Faith always made sure that when she did those exercises and when she went to her appointments that Buffy was in class, she wanted to surprise everyone, she wanted to do something without the help of the gang for a change.

After two weeks of physiotherapy she could walk alone to the bathroom and take showers on her own, she didn't tell Buffy about this though, she enjoyed shower-time. The gang found out about it about almost a week after Faith had learned to walk again. Once Faith was doing some Thai Chi movements when Buffy got back earlier than expected.

Flashback

Faith wanted to do some Thai Chi so walked over to Buffy's CD player and put on her Enya CD which Buffy had found in her old apartment. Faith had sold that apartment since she wasn't going to use it anyway.

As she started the first movements the door opened, since Faith was focusing on her movements she didn't notice Buffy walking in carrying a few books. She lost her concentration though when she heard something being dropped on the floor. As she opened her eyes she could see Buffy bending down to pick up the books, putting them on the table and then turning around to go to Faith.

"Oh my god! You're walking!" Buffy smiled while walking towards Faith.

"Yeh, just wanted to work on my Thai Chi." Faith grinned.

"Faith, this is huge! You're walking. You can walk, you're not using the wheelchair."

"Yeh B, I know. It's kinda hard to do Thai Chi in a wheelchair, thought I'd do it standing instead ya know." Faith was still grinning.

Buffy decided to ignore the sarcasm, "When did this happen? Just now?"

"I've been seeing a physiotherapist for the past 2 weeks. She's been teaching me how to walk again. I've been able to walk for 3 days now, it's getting a lot better. I can walk all the way to the Espresso Pump. I wanted to surprise you with this ya know. All of you guys with it."

Buffy hugged Faith tightly and then loosened it a bit to look at Faith, Faith wrapped her arms around Buffy's lower back.

"Now I have to look up again. I was getting used to looking down to see your face properly." Buffy fake pouted which Faith thought was adorable. She loved Buffy's pout and whenever she saw it she just wanted to kiss it.

Buffy smiled again, she still had her arms around Faith's neck while Faith was still holding Buffy.

"I'm happy for you. This is great. Maybe we can start training soon as well. I've missed our trainings you know. You just know how and when to push my buttons."

"I'm just wicked that way." Faith said, making Buffy laugh.

"Come on, we should tell the others." While Buffy walked towards the door, Faith crabbed her crutches in case she needed them on the way.

End Flashback

Also during those few weeks after the talk, as hard as Faith tried, she couldn't get Xander's words out of her head. Throughout the ongoing research parties Faith found herself observing Buffy a lot more and a lot closer than she had before.

At first she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, sure Buffy helper her quite a bit, but she was injured. She needed help with a lot of things, but as she got stronger and actually didn't need Buffy with her 24/7, Buffy still stayed by her side. Her sister-Slayer would rent movies, pig-out with Chinese food and Ben & Jerry's ice cream and talk about absolutely nothing important at all.

Faith also started to notice that Buffy would look at her a lot, usually when she thought Faith didn't see or notice, but when Faith would look up at Buffy she would blush and look down, pretending she hadn't been staring at Faith. Or she would suddenly need something from the kitchen. Usually when Buffy left for the kitchen Xander would look up at Faith as to say 'see what I was talking about?', Faith in turn would gesture to him that he was crazy and imagining things.

Faith had a hard time believing that herself though, she just didn't know what to do with the information she had obtained. Should she, A: ask Buffy out and potentially ruin this real friendship they had going on?; B: flirt more with Buffy, see how far she could go with it and get Buffy to ask her out? Yeh, she didn't think it would work either so she choose option C: leave things as they were and hope that the feelings she was having for Buffy would eventually go away.

Xander had tried to approach Faith a few times, obviously to talk about Buffy and what needed to be done. For some reason he was set on playing match-maker between the two Slayers. Faith, so far, had been pretty good at avoiding his all-knowing looks and attempts to talk about Buffy. It was getting harder though since Willow had been informed about the current Slayer situation. She also seemed quite keen on being match-maker and help Xander with his little mission.

Flashback

"Hey Faith?"

Faith tore her eyes away from the TV and looked into the direction of where the voice came from.

"Is it important? You're distracting me from 'Ghost Whisperer'."

Willow just sighed with annoyance, "you only watch that show because of that Jennifer Love Hewitt. You couldn't tell me what happened in last week's episode if your life depended on it."

Faith just shrugged in response, "who cares? The girl's hot, so just let me enjoy the show." She then went back to ignoring Willow until the show was over.

"What was it you wanted to talk about? You got my full attention." Faith said turning herself in a better position so that she could see Willow better.

"Um… I.. There's this thing.."

"Red, I'm not getting any younger here, just spit it out already."

"I know you like Buffy." She then did her nickname justice by turning a darker shade of scarlet 'round her ears and neck.

Faith immediately lost the relaxed attitude and clammed shut, "you don't know what you're talking about." Then she grabbed her coat and rolled towards the door, suddenly feeling a very strong urge to leave the room and take a stroll around campus, or go to Joyce's, or something. She just needed to get away from Willow.

Willow, however, saw the move before it even happened and blocked her way to the door.

"Look Faith, I know you don't like talking about these kind of things… Or anything else personal for that matter but.."

"Yeh, you're right, I don't want to talk about it. There's nothing to talk about even." Faith was getting more annoyed by the minute.

"Just listen OK? Please? You don't even have to reply…"

"Fine." Faith knew that it was a loosing battle with Willow in the way and herself not being strong enough yet to do anything about it.

"I know that you wouldn't do anything to lose Buffy, or jeopardize the friendship you two have. At least, not this time 'round. That's why you would never dare to tell her how you really feel. The thing is, I think she's feeling the same as you, and, like you, too scared to say anything. Since you have woken up from that coma Buffy has been so happy and smiling. While you were out of it, Xander and I could barely get her to laugh, forget about smiling, but even you cocking your eyebrow makes her radiate. Me and Xander could never do that… and don't go saying it's just a 'Slayer thing', because it's not. It's something much deeper than that and you two should find out what that is before it's too late. You don't want to pass up a chance of something that could be so magical and unique. You think I would have gotten with Tara if I hadn't done anything?"

She let that question hang in the air, hoping for some kind of response from the dark-haired Slayer.

Faith sighed, "you done?" "Yeh" Willow nodded.

"OK, can you get out of the way then and let me pass?"

Willow just nodded again and opened up the door for Faith, knowing that the other girl was no likely to ever take that first step.

_Oh my god, she's so incredibly stubborn!! I thought that it was quite a convincing speech, but I guess she's just too stubborn to listen._

_Now Willow, don't be so hard on her, look at things from her perspective. She's just received a second chance to have a real friendship with Buffy, you really think that she would want to take the risk to ruin that?_

_But she wouldn't ruin it! Buffy feels the same way. Xander and I are her best friends, we've both seen it and told Faith._

_No matter how often she hears it from you two she wont believe it unless it comes from Buffy herself._

_Great, now I'm having a whole argument with myself. Thanks Faith._

End Flashback

Faith forced herself out of her reverie when she felt Buffy's eyes drilling into her back, she slowly turned around and saw Buffy suddenly listen intently to Tara's and Willow's conversation about a magic book they needed to buy.

She then turned back around and though about the things both Willow and Xander had been telling her and Buffy's strange behaviour. At that moment she decided that it couldn't go on like this anymore, she needed to do something about it. Her feelings weren't going to go away any time soon, and according to the two Scoobs, neither would Buffy's. She got up out of her chair, and slowly walked over to where Buffy, Willow and Tara were sitting.

"Hey B, you busy?" Faith asked nervously.

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm not. You OK? You seem kind of out of it."

"Yeh, can we go somewhere to talk? Alone." She asked, not really listening to what Buffy asked. She was cringing inside at the thought of what she was about to do and could see Willow give her the thumbs up while Tara was smiling encouraging. _Great, Willow must have told her._

"We can go to the training room, I doubt anyone will bother us there." Buffy said while grabbing Faith's hand, pulling the other Slayer with her.

When they entered the training room Xander had built Faith removed her hand from Buffy's grasp and stepped back a bit, needing some space.

"You OK Faith? You're starting to look kind of pale." Buffy tried to reach her hand out towards to her friend, seeing if she could feel a fever coming up and felt hurt when Faith took an other step back, even further out of reach.

"There's something we need to talk about and this it not an easy thing for me to do." Faith started pacing while trying to come up with the words that would freak Buffy out least. _Damn, why didn't I think of what to say before I went over to Buffy? Smart Faith, real smart…_

"You know how much this second chance means to me and that I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize this friendship we've got going on." "Yeh, I know that Faith. What is it?" "Just let me finish? Please?" Buffy just nodded and jumped upon the pommel horse, giving Faith her full attention.

"So many things have changed between us since last year, in one way we've gotten a lot closer and can actually call each other friends, looking at it from a different side it seems as if nothing has changed at all. I still feel so distant from you. And I know why that is, I just always assumed it was my fault, because I feel like this, but the past few weeks have made something clearer to me. It wasn't just me creating that distance, it's you too. I'm pretty sure that you're not doing it on purpose, I don't know, maybe you are. The thing is, I can't do this anymore, I can't see you everyday and act as if things are as they should be."

Buffy started to look quite alarmed, fearing the worst and even though she'd promised not to, she had to interrupt, "Faith, what are you saying?"

"I don't want to be friends anymore Buffy."

"What?! After all this, after everything we've been through you just decided that you don't want to be friends? What the hell you playing at Faith? Was this just some game to you? Get us all to like you again, let you in and the fuck us over? Fuck me over?"

"Oh god, no Buffy! Not at all, sorry that came out wrong and you didn't let me finish. What I was about to say is that, I can't be _just_ friends with you anymore, I want more than that. I like you a lot."

"I like you too Faith." Buffy just looked plain confused now, what was it that Faith was trying to say?

"I mean, I like you a lot and I want to take you out on a date, see how that goes and hopefully get it to develop more." Faith rushed the last sentence out, needing it to be clear for Buffy what it was she meant. She had just put it all on the line, it was all up to Buffy now.

"Oh…"

'_oh' that's all she could come up with after all of that? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Xander and Will must have gotten it all wrong and were just seeing things they wanted to see._

"How long, how long have you felt this way?"

"Since that time we met outside the Bronze last year."

"That long?" Faith just nodded. A look of understanding crossed Buffy's face. Most things Faith had done last year got a lot clearer, the innuendos, the flirting, Faith trying to kill Angel.

"I don't really know what to say Faith. I'm flattered that you feel this way about me, but I need some time to think about this you know."

"Yeh, I get it. I'll go out for a bit, give you some time." Faith turned around and headed back towards the Magic Box. Just as she opened the door she was stopped by Buffy calling her, so she closed the door again and turned around.

"Yeh?"

"I've thought about what you said. And I have to be honest, I want that too. I'm tired of all the flirting and the innuendos and mixed signals, we're not getting any further than that. I want us to go further than that. I want the same as you do."

"You figured out all of that in less than 5 minutes?" Faith asked sceptically.

"I haven't just been thinking about this for the past 5 minutes, I've been thinking about this since I put you into the coma. Now that you've said that you feel what you feel there's nothing stopping us."

Faith slowly walked back to Buffy, giving her time to change her mind. When she did finally reach her, she wasn't quite sure what to do. Buffy however knew exactly what she wanted and closed the gap between them, putting her arms around Faith's neck, slowly pulling Faith to herself then she softly kissed Faith, wanting to savour the taste of her lips. After a few minutes Faith pulled away, but not pulling away fully from Buffy.

"Are you free tonight? For the date I mean?" Faith asked, still slightly nervous even though now it was quite obvious that Buffy wanted the same as her.

"Yeh. Where do you want to go and do?" Faith just smiled, "just make sure that you're ready at 7pm. I'll fix everything, maybe you can get ready at Red's and Tara's dorm, I'll pick you up there."

"No problem. You not gonna tell me at all what to expect?" Faith just smiled again, "nope, not saying anything, just be ready."

Faith then got a hold of Buffy's hand and walked back to the Magic Box, feeling a lot better than she had before.

* * *

TBC... please review and let me know what you think 


	12. Just An Authors Note, Sorry

This is not a chapter update, sorry for that. I just need to ask you all something and if all could please respond honestly.. I've just finished writing my 3rd take on the date between Buffy and Faith and something between all three drafts has started to get to me, I feel as if I have completely changed the character of Faith and also some of representation of Willow and feel as if I'm not staying true to the original characters from the TV show.

I was just wondering if it is just me being hard/harsh paranoid maybe? on myself and my writing, or if others felt as if I was moving away from what the characters would be like on the show. I realize that of course I have changed Faith's character slightly from the show; wanting to seek redemption a whole lot earlier than she did in the original show, starting to open up and be less defensive but am I moving away too much from what she is really like?

Basically because of these thoughts I have not been able to post up the new chapter, as I keep on re-writing it, feeling as if it is not good enough yet.

I appreciate all replies and ask you all to be as honest as possible, no matter how harsh or negative, those are the comments that will help me. Thanks a lot already :)


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